Canceling-box for waiters&#39; checks.



. J. '1. HICKS. OANOELING BOX ron wn'rnns' crmoxs.

APPLICATION FILED RA! 1, 1907.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

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OANUELING Box FOB WAIT-BBS OHEOKS.

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Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

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JOHN T. HICKS, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

CANCELING-BOX FOR WAITERS CHECKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

, Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

Application filed May 1, 1907. Serial No. 371,208.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN T. Hroxs, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Medford, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts,have made certain new and useful Improvements in a Canceling-Box forWaiters Checks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of useful devices designed andadapted for use by waiters in a restaurant.

The object of this invention is to provide a device for use by waitersat the so-called quick lunch counters where a check is passed from thewaiter to the consumer with each article of food served at the time ofservice.

The rectangular box is provided with a slit at one end through which thecard is ejected. and a closing device for the opposite end of peculiarand novel construction readily removed and replaced. The box is of sheetmetal and the closing device is a strip of resilient metal having twoarms of unequal length with projections on each arm engaging sockets inthe sides of the box, the spring metal strip and the arms being soarranged that the pressure of the thumb at the center of the stripreleases it from the box while under all other circumstances it istightly locked in position by the engagement of the projections with thesockets.

Between the series of checks and wall of the box is an ejecting device,this consists of a plate having two arms and a thumb piece, the thumbpiece is on the exterior of the box connected to the e'ector by a pin orrivet passing throu h a siit in the wal of the box; the edge of thisplate remote from the ejecting slit is curved or bent downwards adistance equal to the thickness of one of the checks, when the thumbadvances the check the rear end of the ejecting plate with the describedcurve or bent edge is sli htly advanced so that the bent edge fofi checkin its initial movement and the ejection of the check is completed byapplying the thumb to the thumb piece and movin it forward. By thearrangement describe the ejector can only advance one check at a time asthe bent edge always rides u on the surface of the second check, after te first check is advanced by the thumb. On the inner wall of the box isfixed a plate section in the path of the ejecting device to block themovement of said device.

ows the.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the box; Fig. 2 is an end view of thesame, part of the interior mechanism shown in dotted outline; Fig. 3 isa top plan view showing a cardboard check partly ejected; Fig 4 is anend view opposite to that shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a longitudinalsection showing the follower with the actuating spring therefor indotted outline; Fig. 6 is a cross section; Fig. 7 is a plan view of thebottom of the box; Fig. 8 shows the unequal arm closing devices; Fig. 9is a side elevation; Fig. 10 is a side elevation opposite to that shownin Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a longitudinal section; Fig. 12 is a plan andsectional view of the ejector plate-section.

The box or receptacle 20, preferably of sheet metal, is rectangular andits ends are closed by resilient strips of sheet metal 21. These stripshave terminal arms of unequal length, the arm a in each case being somewhat longer than its companion arm I); on each arm a. and b there is a'projection 22 tapered from the free end of the arm and suitably shapedto engage an aperture 0 in the wall of the box 20. By pressing upon thecenter of this strip of spring metal 21, causing it to assume theposition shown in Fig. 5, the arms a, b, are thrown out of engagementwith the apertures c. The longer arm a is thrown out further than thearm I) and the strip is turned on the arm I) as a hinge. This unequallen th of the arms increases the ease and faci ity of application andremoval of the closing strips.

Within the box 20 are placed a series of superposed cardboard checks (1having numerals arranged a fixed distance from the edge, shown in Fig. 3at 23. A plate or follower 24 is placed under this series of checks d;the follower is rectangular and about the same in area as the top wallof the box. There is a conoidal, helical spring 8 having its a ex c.There is a perforation 25 in the upper wall of the box of sufiicientsize to receive the tip of the finger of the operator which is used toinitiate the ejection of the upper or outer check of the series throughthe slit 6. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 11, and 12, there is an ejectingplate-section 26, this is bifurcated so as to straddle the aperture 25,at the rear end it has a lip 27 turned down about the thickness of acheck. The plate-section 26 has a neck 28 1passing through a slot 30 inthe upper wa of the box to which neck is fixed a thumb piece 29. Byapplying the finger to this piece 29 the plate 26 is caused to slide onthe under side of the upper wall. As shown in Figs. 3 and 11 there is aplatesection 31 fixed to the upper interior wall of the box; it isbifurcated to avoid closing the aperture 25 and acts as a stop to limitthe movement of the plate-section 26. In the operation of ejecting acheck the finger is applied to the check through aperture 25, the checkis thus partly ejected, the platesection 26 is advanced until the lip 27rides on the check immediately below, that is, the second check of theseries, and then engages the rear edge of the upper check, completingthe ejection to the point where the plate 26 is stopped by the late 31this leavescand holds the edge of t e check within the box until thecheck is removed by the hand and placed within the holding device Theholding device f consists of a flat spring strip 33 fixed to the box at34, the spring strip 33 is bifurcated at 35, 36, and perforated at 37,38; the arms 35, 36 are resilient and grip and hold the check when it isplaced between them. The plane of the s ring f is at right angles to theejecting slit, t is renders the holding device f visible so that thecheck may be easily inserted between the parts 35, 36, as the box isheld with its top u ward; fixed to the side Wall of the box in ine withthe perforations 37, 38, is a cutting projection 40, the distancebetween the perforations 37 and 38 and the junction of the bifurcations35, 36, is about equal to the distance between the edge of a check d andthe line of numerals 23 near the margin so that the perforation of thecutter 4O always occurs at about the same point with respect to thenumerals.

At each corner of the bottom wall of the box on the outside are fixedloops 50, these loops are designed to engage the corners of a card, uponwhich any desired record or notation may be made.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a box anda cover therefor consisting of a strip of spring metal having two armsof unequal length fixed in parallel planes at opposite ends of thestrip, interior projections on said arms and sockets in the oppositewalls of the box to receive said pro ections.

2. In a device of the character described the combination of a box orinclosure having an ejecting slit for a check in the end wall near theupper wall, a perforation in said upper wall to admit the finger of theoperator, an ejecting plate section having a projection adapted toengage the rear edge of an adjacent check, said plate having itsadvanced edge divided, one division being located upon each side of saidfinger perforation, and a plate section fixed to said u per wall of thebox, both said plates having t eir exposed surfaces in the same plane.

3. In a device of the character described, an inclosing receptaclehaving an ejecting slit in the end wall near the side wall, a removablecover consisting of a strip of resilient sheet metal having at the endsangular flanges formed with rojections ada ted to engage perforations 1nthe side wals of the box, said projections having their contacting facestapered, substantially as shown and described.

JOHN T. HICKS.

Witnesses:

GRACE G. FRASER, J. I. JOHNSTON.

